Buying the Polestar 1 Will Cost You $155,000

Or you can pay for a subscription

Last year, Volvo announced plans to put the Concept Coupe into production as a Polestar-branded plug-in hybrid. Called the Polestar 1, the coupe was said to make 600 hp and 738 lb-ft of torque, while offering a 93-mile range in electric mode. The big question, though, was how much it would cost. Now we finally have that answer.

At Auto China 2018 in Beijing today, Volvo released official pricing for the Polestar 1. In the U.S., it will start at $155,000. That means it will cost about the same as other hybrid performance coupes such as the $157,800 Acura NSX and the $148,495 BMW i8. For comparison, the NSX makes a system total of 573 hp and offers a negligible electric range. The latest i8 makes 369 hp and can drive 18 miles on electric power alone.

As a front-engined grand tourer, the Polestar 1 probably won't be able to match the handling of its mid-engined competitors, but with more power and a longer electric range, customers may not care. According to Volvo, it has already received 7,000 paid deposits from interested buyers in 18 different countries. With that level of initial interest, it sounds like plans to quickly fill out the Polestar lineup will continue.

"We have seen a strong initial response from our first customers," said Polestar boss Thomas Ingenlath in a statement. "This gives us confidence that our brand has a bright future. In 2019 already we will launch our next car, the Polestar 2 - a mid-sized fully-electric car which is well developed in its engineering phase. We will follow that up with the Polestar 3, a stunning electric SUV with a beautiful aerodynamic silhouette that is already advanced in its design phase."

However, announcing a sales price doesn't mean Volvo has given up on its subscription model. In fact, Polestar thinks most customers will actually choose that option.

"Polestar engagement will be digital and our cars will be offered primarily on a subscription basis," said August Wu, head of Polestar China. "With one monthly payment covering all of the traditional costs associated with car ownership, we enable the customer to focus on the enjoyment of driving. We believe that this will help Polestar form a new relationship between ourselves and our customers."